Another dud. I couldn't even get to page 70. ( )

An amazing, sometimes disturbing read with rather novel insights into the possible direction of "AI" - Although I don't think he was looking at it as AI in our current sense.

The first three books tend to be a tad hard core but worth it. The fourth is less so, with the author exploring the idea of highly advanced alien entities that straddle multiple dimensions and how they might appear gods. Wetware was my favorite by far. ( )

This is definitely the wildest set of cyberpunk stories I've ever read. It's filled with sex, drugs, and robots...often at the same time. Each book in the series gets more gonzo than the previous one. Imagine a book co-written by Isaac Asimov and Hunter S. Thompson and Douglas Hofstadter: lots of interesting speculation about robots and consciousness set in a world populated by utterly depraved people.

All four of the books are fun reads, but I think the second book, "Wetware", is probably the best of the four. ( )

Software: has a nice down-homey Philip K. Dick weirdness to it. Funny as well as satisfying science-fiction. The characters and the Boppers are all great. The ending (as with all 4 of the books) is slightly abrupt, though it's still the best paced of the 4. And unlike the rest of the tetrlogy (especially the last two), Software's writing actually has moods and rhythms.

Wetware: the cyberpunk style does not feel natural after reading Software (which is very hard to call cyberpunk), but it's still memorable and fun. Unfortunately the secondary characters are underdeveloped and bland. There are a few great descriptions of far-out technology, and the speech of the Boppers is fun, and it's still very funny; unfortunately, it isn't quite as tight as Software, though it does have "more" to it. Too much, in fact, and most of it's tossed off. Moreover, too much is devoted to catching the reader up (assuming they haven't read the previous books - which is something that plagues the whole tetralogy and Rucker only barely masters when it's too late in Realware), which is a real pain in the ass when you're reading the tetralogy.

Freeware: the tetralogy begins to stagnate. All characters are boring and the writing becomes sloppy. Dialogue breaks down. There are some good ideas but it just doesn't quite work out. Rucker slows the narrative speediness of Software and Wetware down to a normal novel's pace; however, he also sacrifices the zany humor. The first half or 1/3 of the book seems promising... but the climax and tying-together of all the narrative threads is done too conveniently and without proper pacing.

Realware: was difficult to finish. Hastily written and the characters are boring. The corny romances seem like apologies for Rucker's previous portrayals of women and sex. The plot doesn't really go anywhere (it's difficult to say what Realware is about and how it adds to the tetralogy). Bopper/moldie culture (the biggest feature of the series) is almost entirely forgotten. There is only one point of interest and that's only done briefly (imprisonment inside Om). A real bummer of a book. And it ends just as things seem to be taking off with the realware.

To sum up: Software and Wetware are the only two worth reading. It is, however, interesting to see Rucker's development as a writer. Sadly, he mostly just gets worse. ( )

My first Kindle book. The Kindle does not show page numbers, as they vary by text size and other display settings. So far, this is an interesting and bizarre tale... ( )